1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to processing data packets and, in particular, to processing data packets that follow a selected digital recorder standard protocol. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for converting binary data in data packets that follow a selected digital recorder standard protocol into human-readable information.
2. Background
Different types of information may be sent over a network using a series of data packets. For example, an email may be sent over a network as a series of data packets. A data packet is a formatted unit of data that travels over a network. The data packet may travel from a source to a destination. The structure of the data packet may depend on the type of the data packet and on the protocol associated with the data packet.
Typically, a data packet includes a header and a payload. The header may contain information about the data packet. For example, without limitation, the header of an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet may include a source Internet Protocol address, a destination Internet Protocol address, a sequence number, a type of service, and other types of information. The payload is the actual data that is being delivered to the destination. The information contained in a data packet may be in a raw format. In other words, the information may be in a binary format.
In some cases, it may be desirable to analyze the raw network traffic of data packets being received over a network at an interface. Wireshark may be an example of a free and open source packet analyzer used to analyze these types of data packets. Wireshark may allow data packets to be dissected. In other words, the data packets may be decoded and converted into human-readable information.
The information in a data packet may be formatted to follow any number of different protocols including, but not limited to, the Internet Protocol, the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and other types of protocols. Multiple dissectors may be used to decode a data packet with each dissector capable of decoding the portion of the data packet following a protocol corresponding to that dissector.
Currently available dissectors may be unable to decode certain portions of data packets. For example, currently available dissectors may be unable to decode data packets that follow the Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) Standard 106 protocol. The Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) Standard 106 protocol is a digital recorder standard protocol. Consequently, some packet analyzers, such as Wireshark, may be unable to accurately analyze data packets received over a network and detect errors in the sequencing of these data packets. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.